The sight of a net bursting at the seams full of prawns is what every deckhand on every prawn trawler wants to see.

But for a select few working in one of Australia's most valuable and remote fisheries, it's also an opportunity to collect and record information about other creatures of the deep that come up in the nets.

The value of the data being collected by crew member observers (CMOs) was instrumental in the northern prawn fishery becoming one of only seven fisheries Australia-wide to achieve the 'blue tick' from the Marine Stewardship Council - the most widely respected and accepted global standard for the certification of wild-caught seafood.

Sharee Carton was one of the first to put up her hand to be involved in the program when it started 10 years ago. She's seen firsthand the positive effect on the industry, from the attitudes of her co-workers on the back deck to the highest levels of fisheries management.

"I've definitely noticed in the past 10 years there's been quite a big change in attitude of people who were nervous that we were providing information that was just going to be used to shut down the fishery.

"Now people realise that that information is really valuable to making informed decisions about the fishery and to present evidence to the general public or to the governing bodies that in a lot of areas we're seeing an increase in our prawn catches through lowering the fishing effort.

"I've been more specifically involved in the trialling of the different kind of by-catch devices and seeing the changes of having turtle excluders, because we didn't have much in the way of by-catch devices when I started and really does make a big change.

"It's fun and interesting being a part of the data collection process and knowing that's having an effect on the way our industry is viewed and the way decisions are being made about it.

"It's very valuable information that they just can't get anywhere else, and we see this stuff every day, so it makes sense that that knowledge gets used."

Gary Fry works for the Oceans and Atmosphere section of the Commonwealth Scientific Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO). He says working together with the industry is helping to get 'good, robust data' that cannot be replicated in any other way.

"We use it in running risk assessments and sustainability analysis on that data to look at catch rates over time," he said.

"If the catch rates are steady, that's a good indication nothing's changing. If the catch rate is going down, there's scenarios where the fishery's changed regions where the high effort is or the animals are decreasing in numbers.

"But you know, until we know that, we need to verify the data and look at the fishery patterns.

"To get that kind of data from the whole fishing season is invaluable. You collect a lot more data, it's validated when it comes in by looking at the animals they're recording because they take photos of each one.

"We also do a validation of the data by comparing catch rates that they collect and what we collect in our scientific surveys.

"It's a unique opportunity for the fishers to collect their own data where, to be honest, we couldn't do that to that extent."

It's why the crew member observers program's become a co-management success story that's held up as an example of how fishers can play a meaningful role in decisions about their fishery.

Prawn trawling 'a way of life'

For many crew members, like Sharee Carton, prawn trawling is a way of life. They work hard for five and a half months at sea, earn money in a lump sum and spend the rest of the year at home or wherever their interests take them.

Sharee says it's the ideal work routine as it allows her to pursue her passion for travel. But she also credits the CMO program for her longevity in the industry and the changing attitudes she sees in her unique workplace.

"This just makes the job a lot more interesting. I don't think I would have stayed in fishing for 20 years if I hadn't become involved in the crew member observer program. It adds a whole new dimension.

"I'm (still) really happy when we get a big bag of prawns.

"But, I must admit, if I see one of my particularly interesting species of sea snakes hanging out of the side of that cod-end, that's going to grab my attention a lot more in getting that snake out before it gets hurt and thrown back over the side."

"There's a lot more emphasis now on people trying to return animals back to the sea, alive, if possible.

"People who start out afraid of or don't like some of the creatures that come up like the snakes, often by the end of a season they'll be saying 'can I put it over the side?' and you know they're looking at that snake as an interesting creature that they need to look after and not as something dangerous that they need to get rid of, and possibly hurt, as they're throwing it over the side."